Welting and method of making the same



Dec. 28, 1937. MATHEWS 2,103,331

WELTING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Jan. 23, 1936 14 E 0mm F. MATHEWS 2:? f i'ormzya' Patented Dec. 28, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WELTING AND mrrnon or MAKING Tm:

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Edward P. Mathews, Weymouth, inn.

Application January 23, 1936, Serial ,No. 60,405

10 Claims. (CI- 36-78) This invention relates to welting, P rticularly to welting adapted for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes. In one aspect it comprises welting having two integrally-connected parts one of which is adapted to be connected to the sole of a shoe and the other to the upper thereof, the welting being grooved in a manner permitting it readily to take the somewhat angular shape necessary in its'use in a shoe. The welting is preerably, though not necessarily, constructed in strip form and a further feature thereof as thus constructed resides in so hotching'one or both edge portions of the welting as to permit the free flexing of the strip in its own plane in a manner permitting the welting to conform to thecurvature of the shoe on which it is used.

' My improved welting, as illustrated and described in the accompanying drawing, is more particularly adapted for use in the manufacture U of shoes by hand as set forth in my co-pending application, Serial No. 78,606 filed May 8, 1936. In accordance with such practice the several parts to be assembled in forming the shoe are pre-cut and pre-perforated in a predetermined manner whereby such parts may be assembled merely by lacing them together through the said perforations. Accordingly, my improved welting is perforated with predetermined thread-receiving holes whereby adapting it to be used in this novel manner in constructing hand-assembled shoes. I y

The primary object of the invention is the production of an improved and novel welting of the above-described nature. The invention includes within its scope the noveimethod of making the welting herein disclosed.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing wherein,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a leather strip from which my improved welting is made and which view shows certain of the preliminary steps of manufacture,

Figs. 2, 3, and 4 illustrate in perspective further steps in the manufacture of-the welting,

Fig. 5 is a view like Fig. 4 but showing the opposite and finished face of the welting,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of a shoe employing my improved welting in its construction.

My improved welting is made preferably from a leather strip, such as the strip l shown in Fig. 1, and the first steps in the treatment thereof may be the skiving off of one corner edge of the front face of the strip at l2 and the grooving of the rear face thereof as at ll. An edge corner of the front face may then be skived of! at IS in a manner reducing the strip to a tapering thickness toward said edge, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The strip is thereafter provided with a deeper groove IS in its rear face, parallel with and adjacent to the groove l4, and with a relatively shallow groove 20 inits front face and adjacent to the bevelled edge l2. While these operations 10 may be performed conveniently in the order named it will be readily apparent that such order is of secondary importance only. The primary use of my improved welting, as herein disclosed, is in the manufacture of boots and shoes and in such use it is required that the welting shall conform to the curvature ofsuch products. In order to make the welting more adaptable to such use I preferably notch one or both edges thereof thereby rendering the welting more flexible laterally within its own plane. As illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, both edges are severed with V-shaped cuts 22 whereby to produce V-shaped notches 24, and, as/illustrated,

these notches are preferably located in oppositely disposed relation on opposite sides of the strip. Such notches not only render the strip laterally flexible, but furthermore form a plurality of individual body portions 26 interconnected by the central portion or neck of the strip located between the oppositely disposed notches. 7

As has been heretofore mentioned, the improved welting is particularly applicable to the manufacture of shoes by hand and accordingly the welting as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, is pro- 5 vlded with two lines 28 and 30 of perforations for that purpose. These two lines of perforations are on opposite sides of the groove l8 and respectively in alignment with the grooves l4 and 20, there being preferably four or more such perforations in each body portion 26.

The use of the welting in a shoe is illustrated in Fig. 6 wherein a shoe upper and sole piece are respectively indicated by reference characters 32 and 34. The upper and sole piece are provided with pre-formed perforations corresponding to the perforations 28 and 30 in the welting and are secured to the welting and therefore to each other by lacing or stitching 36 and 28 passing through the perforations, the welting portion perforated at 30 having its unfinished face resting against the upper 32 and the welting portion perforated at 28 having the finished face thereof resting against the sole piece 34. As thus used it will ,epparent that the welting'is required not 5 'stantially to a rig-h ingthebody in only to flex laterally to conform with the curvature of the shoe but -angular position along the roove l8.

The welting is preferably and most conveniently used in strip form though it will be apparent that the portions 26 may be used as independent pieces. In either case the deep groove l8 provides a substantial clearance permitting the welting to be folded to the right-angular shape shown in Fig. 6, the groove I8 being substantially closed when the welting is in such folded position. The grooves I4 and 20 receive the lacing therein whereby housing the lacing flush within the exposed faces thereof as The notches 24 permit free: lateral flexing of the welting within its plane whereby it may conform closely to the curvature of the sole and shoe. I

Furthermore, the skiving of the edge portions of the strip at I! and I 6 provide bevels'for these portions whereby they cooperate with the sole 34 and upper 32. I

. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,-

1. An article of manufacture comprising a welting strip having a rear face and a finished front face, the rear face being grooved longitudinally therealong within such face to permit flexing of the body portion along and in a direction to close the groove, the strip having predetermined and open thread-receiving perforations on opposite sides of the groove and said rear face being skived along one'edge in a manner reductapering thickness toward said edge.

2. An article of manufacture comprising a welting strip grooved longitudinally therealbng within the rear face thereof and having a parallel and deeper groove in said face permitting flexing of the strip along and in a direction to close the deeper groove and having predetermined and open thread-receiving perforations on opposite sides of the deeper groove and within the flrst-namedgroove.

3. A welt comprising a strip grooved therealong within one face thereof to permit flexing of the strip along and in a direction to close the groove and having predetermined thread-receiving perforations on opposite sides of the groove, an edge of the strip being notched between the perforations in a manner permitting the strip to be laterally flexed in a direction closing the notches.

also to flex upon itself sub-' shown in Fig. 6. 4

4. A welt comprising a strip grooved therealong within one face thereof to permit flexing of the strip along and in a direction to close the groove and having predetermined thread-receiving perforations on opposite sides of the groove, both edges of the strip being notched between the perforations whereby to render the strip laterally flexible within the plane of the strip.

5. The welt defined in claim 4 wherein said notches on opposite sides of the strip are oppositely disposed.

6. A welt comprising a strip grooved longitudinally in one face thereof to permit flexing of 'the strip along and in a direction to close the groove, the strip having notches oppositely disposed along and within the edges thereof to permit lateral flexing of the strip within its plane.

7. A welt comprising a strip grooved longitudinallyin one face thereof to permit flexing of the strip along and in a direction to close the groove, the strip being notched along and within an edge thereof to permit lateral flexing of the strip within its plane, and the grooved face of the strip being skived along said notched edge in a manner reducing the strip to a tapering thickness toward said edge.

8. A method of making pre-formed welting from a strip of leather, which consists in grooving the strip longitudinally within the rear face thereof and between the two edges of the strip, skiving the rear face on one of the edges in a manner reducing the strip in tapering thickness toward said one edge, and edge notching the strip to render it more flexible in its own plane.

9. A method of making pre-formed welting from a strip of leather, which consists in grooving the strip longitudinally within the rear face thereof and intermediate of the two edges of the strip, cutting a deeper groove in said face parallel with and adjacent to the first-named groove, and perforating the strip at predetermined points-on opposite sides of the said deeper groove and within the flrst named groove.

10. A method of making pre-formed welting from a strip of leather, which consists in grooving the rear faceof the strip longitudinally and between the two edges of the strip, perforating the strip at predetermined points on opposite sides of the groove, and-making oppositely disposed notches in and uniformly spaced along the two edges of the strip.

EDWARD F. MATHEWS. 

